Trains on Germany's intercity lines began running early Friday (Jan 19), a day after being suspended as violent gales battered northern Europe, killing at least six people across the country.

In the south, the high-speed ICE trains were running as normal on Friday morning, although the service in the rest of the country remained subject to major disruptions, rail operator Deutsche Bahn said.

The company had on Thursday suspended all high-speed services due to storm Friedericke in the first such stoppage since 2007 when major gales battered the country.

By the end of the morning, trains should be running to all the main cities, Deutsche Bahn said, with the service expected to be back to normal by the weekend.

Regional train services were also disrupted on Friday, particularly in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.

Hundreds of rail staff worked through the night to clear the tracks of branches and trees, many of which were uprooted by the force of the storm which saw winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour while others worked to repair damage to the lines, it said.

The huge storm caused nine deaths in northern Europe and left air and rail traffic in chaos.
 

Source: AFP